Wireless Device, Network Node, and Methods Therein for Sending a Message Comprising One or More Populated Fields

ABSTRACT

A method performed by a wireless device ( 130 ) for sending a message comprising one or more populated fields ( 704, 801, 901 ) to a network node ( 110 ). The wireless device ( 130 ) and the network node ( 110 ) operate in a wireless communications network ( 100 ). The wireless device ( 130 ) populates ( 701 ) one or more fields ( 704, 801, 901 ) comprised in an existing message to be sent to the network node ( 110 ) with an indication of a restriction of the wireless device ( 130 ). The wireless device ( 130 ) also sends ( 702 ) the message comprising the one or more populated fields ( 704, 801, 901 ) to the network node ( 110 ) prior to an enquiry or a fetching of category and capability information of the wireless device ( 130 ) by the network node ( 110 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a first device and methodstherein for sending a message comprising one or more populated fields toa second device. The present disclosure also relates generally to asecond device and methods therein for determining a restriction of afirst device. The present disclosure further also relates generally tocomputer programs and computer-readable storage mediums, having storedthereon the computer programs to carry out these methods.

BACKGROUND

Communication devices such as terminals are also known as e.g. UserEquipments (UE), mobile terminals, wireless terminals and/or mobilestations. Terminals are enabled to communicate wirelessly in a cellularcommunications network or wireless communication system, sometimes alsoreferred to as a cellular radio system or cellular network. Thecommunication may be performed e.g. between two terminals, between aterminal and a regular telephone and/or between a terminal and a servervia a Radio Access Network (RAN) and possibly one or more core networks,comprised within the cellular communications network.

Terminals may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellulartelephones, laptops, or surf plates with wireless capability, just tomention some further examples. The terminals in the present context maybe, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held,computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled tocommunicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such asanother terminal or a server.

The cellular communications network covers a geographical area which maybe divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area being served by anaccess node such as a base station, e.g. a Radio Base Station (RBS),which sometimes may be referred to as e.g. “eNB”, “eNodeB”, “NodeB”, “Bnode”, or BTS (Base Transceiver Station), depending on the technologyand terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes suchas e.g. macro eNodeB, home eNodeB or pico base station, based ontransmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell is thegeographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base stationat a base station site. One base station, situated on the base stationsite, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station maysupport one or several communication technologies. The base stationscommunicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies withthe terminals within range of the base stations. In the context of thisdisclosure, the expression Downlink (DL) is used for the transmissionpath from the base station to the mobile station. The expression Uplink(UL) is used for the transmission path in the opposite direction i.e.from the mobile station to the base station.

In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE),base stations, which may be referred to as eNodeBs or even eNBs, may bedirectly connected to one or more core networks.

3GPP LTE radio access standard has been written in order to support highbitrates and low latency both for uplink and downlink traffic. All datatransmission is in LTE controlled by the radio base station.

Some of the current standardization procedures are focused on providingfor standards for low cost UEs. In agreement with this, the objective ofthe 3GPP Release (Rel)-12 work item on “Low cost & enhanced coverageMachine-Type Communications (MTC) UE for LTE” is to specify a new lowcomplexity UE type with the following complexity reduction techniques:a) Single receive antenna, b) DL and UL maximum Transport Block Size(TBS) of 1000 bits, and c) Half duplex operation, optional.

Because such a low complexity UE may have restrictions in its operation,such as the TBS restriction just mentioned, it may need to inform thenetwork, e.g., its serving network node, of its capability/ies. In theparticular context of the Radio Resource Control (RRC) procedure, theexisting working assumption is that the UE does not indicate its lowcomplexity capability in Msg1, Preamble, nor in the Radio ResourceControl (RRC) context of Msg3-RRCConnectionRequest- orMsg5-RRCConnectionSetupComplete-.

A low complexity UE supporting only 1000 bit UL TBS may restrict itsBuffer Status Report (BSR), a Medium Access Control (MAC) controlelement, to less than 1000 bit until having provided the UE capabilitiesto the eNB or having received the first RRCConnectionReconfigurationmessage, so that the network may restrict all UL grants accordingly.

Once the network is informed that the UE is a low complexity UE, it maybe possible for the UE to report a value greater than 1000 bit if thereis data in the buffers even though the network may restrict the ULgrants accordingly. This is because a low complexity UE may have morethan 1000 bits in the buffer, even if it may only send/receive up to1000 bits at a time.

However, under the current working assumption, a UE with restrictions inits operation may still receive grants it may not handle, and experiencea communication failure.

SUMMARY

It is therefore an object of embodiments herein to improve the way inwhich an indication of a restriction of a wireless device, such as a UE,is provided to a network node, such as an eNB.

According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a method performed by a wireless device. The method is forsending a message comprising one or more populated fields to a networknode. The wireless device and the network node operate in a wirelesscommunications network. The wireless device populates one or more fieldscomprised in an existing message to be sent to the network node with anindication of a restriction of the wireless device. The wireless devicesends the message comprising the one or more populated fields to thenetwork node prior to an enquiry or a fetching of category andcapability information of the wireless device by the network node.

According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by method performed by a network node. The method is fordetermining the restriction of the wireless device. The network node andthe wireless device operate in the wireless communications network. Thenetwork node receives the existing message from the wireless device. Themessage comprises the one or more fields. The one or more fields havebeen populated by the wireless device with the indication of therestriction of the wireless device. The receiving is performed prior tothe enquiry or the fetching of the category and capability informationof the wireless device by the network node. The network node determinesthe restriction of the wireless device, based on the indication in thereceived message.

According to a third aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a wireless device configured to send the message comprisingthe one or more populated fields to the network node. The wirelessdevice and the network node are configured to operate in the wirelesscommunications network. The wireless device is further configured topopulate the one or more fields comprised in the existing messageconfigured to be sent to the network node with the indication of therestriction of the wireless device. The wireless device is furtherconfigured to send the message comprising the one or more populatedfields to the network node prior to the enquiry or the fetching of thecategory and capability information of the wireless device by thenetwork node.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a network node configured to determine the restriction ofthe wireless device. The network node and the wireless device areconfigured to operate in the wireless communications network. Thenetwork node is further configured to receive the existing message fromthe wireless device. The message comprises the one or more fields. Theone or more fields have been populated by the wireless device with theindication of the restriction of the wireless device. The receiving isconfigured to be performed prior to the enquiry or the fetching of thecategory and capability information of the wireless device by thenetwork node. The network node is further configured to determine therestriction of the wireless device, based on the indication in thereceived message.

According to a fifth aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a computer program, comprising instructions which, whenexecuted on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor tocarry out the method according to the method performed by the wirelessdevice.

According to a sixth aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon acomputer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on atleast one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out themethod performed by the wireless device.

According to a seventh aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a computer program, comprising instructions which, whenexecuted on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor tocarry out the method according to the method performed by the networknode.

According to an eighth aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon acomputer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on atleast one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out themethod performed by the network node.

By the wireless device sending the message comprising the indication ofthe restriction of the wireless device to the network node prior to theenquiry or the fetching of category and capability information of thewireless device by the network node, the wireless device enables thenetwork node to determine the restriction of the wireless device earlyenough to act accordingly, e.g., restrict an UL grant for the wirelessdevice, and avoid a potential communication failure. Moreover, by thewireless device using the existing message to send the indication,populating the one or more fields comprised in the existing message withthe indication of the restriction, the wireless device avoids impactinglatency or coverage in the communications network, and unnecessarilywasting resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating embodiments in a wirelesscommunications network, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a wirelessdevice, according to embodiments herein.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an R/R/E/LCID MAC Subheader,according to existing methods.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating two examples of Msg3 for CCCHAccess, according to existing methods.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an Msg3 forCCCH Access, according to existing methods.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating two examples of L-fieldformats according to existing methods.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the case for the smallestpossible Msg3 grant, according to embodiments herein.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the case for the smallestpossible Msg3 grant according to embodiments herein.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the case for the smallestpossible Msg3 grant according to embodiments herein.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a networknode, according to embodiments herein.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a networknode, according to embodiments herein.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of awireless device, according to embodiments herein.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of anetwork node, according to embodiments herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Terminologies

The following commonly terminologies are used in the embodiments and areelaborated below:

Radio network node: In some embodiments, the non-limiting term radionetwork node is more commonly used and it refers to any type of networknode serving a UE and/or connected to other network nodes or networkelements, or any radio node from where a UE receives signal. Examples ofradio network nodes are Node B, base station (BS), multi-standard radio(MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNode B, network controller, radionetwork controller (RNC), base station controller, relay, donor nodecontrolling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP),transmission points, transmission nodes, RRU, RRH, nodes in distributedantenna system (DAS) etc.

Network node: In some embodiments, a more general term “network node” isused and it can correspond to any type of radio network node or anynetwork node, which communicates with at least a radio network node.Examples of network node are any radio network node stated above, corenetwork node (e.g., MSC, MME etc.), O&M, OSS, SON, positioning node,e.g., E-SMLC, MDT etc.

User equipment: In some embodiments, the non-limiting term userequipment (UE) is used and it refers to any type of wireless devicecommunicating with a radio network node in a cellular or mobilecommunication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to deviceUE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine communication,PDA, iPAD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embeddedequipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc.

The embodiments herein also apply to the multi-point carrier aggregationsystems.

Note that although terminology from 3GPP LTE has been used in thisdisclosure to exemplify the embodiments herein, this should not be seenas limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only theaforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including WCDMA, WiMax,UMB and GSM, may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered withinthis disclosure.

Also note that terminology such as eNodeB and UE should be consideringnon-limiting and does in particular not imply a certain hierarchicalrelation between the two; in general “eNodeB” could be considered asdevice 1 and “UE” device 2, and these two devices communicate with eachother over some radio channel.

As part of the development of embodiments herein, one problem associatedwith existing approaches will first be identified and discussed.

One problem with the working assumption described in the Backgroundsection is that the eNB may give a grant larger than what the UErequests in the BSR, even if it is less than 1000 bit, until the networkis aware of the TBS limitation. This may occur if resources areavailable to compensate the uncertainty in data arrival at the UE sidedue to delay, i.e. if a UE is uploading a file and the data is arrivingin the UE transmission buffer asynchronously with respect to the grantsit receives from the eNB. The resources mentioned here may refer to theresources available in the network node, e.g. Physical Resource Blocks(PRBs), for UEs in connected mode or requesting access. Even though theUE may request less than 1000 bits in the BSR, the serving network nodemay provide a larger grant, if possible, assuming that the UE may havemore data waiting to be sent by the time it receives the grant. This isa problem since the UE may not override the grant from the eNB, and thegrant is to transmit a certain TBS on a set of PRBs. Modifying the TBSmeans changing either the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) or the PRBallocation. If the UE has UL data which is less than what is granted bythe eNB for transmission, padding may be needed to make the overall datapayload equal to the grant. In short, it is possible that a lowcomplexity UE, which restricts its BSR to less than 1000 bit, may stillbe granted with a TBS of size larger than 1000 bits. This may lead to acommunication failure.

A similar problem may arise due to other restrictions in the UE than theTBS. For example, these may be other restrictions a low complexity UEmay have, such as a limited output power or limited receiversensitivity. Similarly, the same problem may arise due to anothercategory of the device not being communicated to the serving networknode early enough, that is, a category of device that does not primarilyhave a TBS restriction but e.g., also, or instead, a particularly lowlink level capability. That is, that the device requires more power fromthe network to achieve a good connection quality and/or that the devicemay be restricted in maximum transmitted power levels as compared toother devices. That is, the capability of the UE associated with therestriction may not be provided to the network in time for the networkto act accordingly.

In this section, the embodiments herein will be illustrated in moredetail by a number of exemplary embodiments. It should be noted thatthese embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from oneembodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodimentand it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how thosecomponents may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts an example of a wireless communications network 100,sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system, cellular networkor wireless communications system, in which embodiments herein may beimplemented. The wireless communications network 100 may for example bea network such as a Long-Term Evolution (LTE), e.g. LTE FrequencyDivision Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-DuplexFrequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band,Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal TerrestrialRadio Access (UTRA) TDD, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)network, GSM/Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio AccessNetwork (GERAN) network, Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), EDGE network,network comprising of any combination of Radio Access Technologies(RATs) such as e.g. Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) base stations, multi-RATbase stations etc., any 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)cellular network, WiFi networks, Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMax), 5G system or any cellular network or system.Thus, although terminology from 3GPP LTE may be used in this disclosureto exemplify embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting thescope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned system.

The wireless communications network 100 comprises a plurality of networknodes whereof a network node 110 is depicted in FIG. 1. The network node110 may be a transmission point such as a radio base station, forexample an eNB, an eNodeB, or an Home Node B, an Home eNode B or anyother network node capable to serve a wireless device, such as a userequipment or a machine type communication device in a wirelesscommunications network. For example, in a D2D context, the network node110 may be a wireless device.

The wireless communications network 100 covers a geographical area whichmay be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area is served by anetwork node, although, one network node may serve one or several cells.In the non-limiting example depicted in FIG. 1, the network node 110serves a cell 120. The network node 100 may be of different classes,such as, e.g., macro eNodeB, home eNodeB or pico base station, based ontransmission power and thereby also cell size. Typically, the wirelesscommunications network 100 may comprise more cells similar to the cell120, served by their respective network node. This is not depicted inFIG. 1 for the sake of simplicity. The network node 110 may support oneor several communication technologies, and its name may depend on thetechnology and terminology used. In 3GPP LTE, the network node 110,which may be referred to as eNodeBs or even eNBs, may be directlyconnected to one or more core networks.

A wireless device 130 also referred to herein as a user equipment or UEis located in the wireless communication network 100. More wirelessdevices may be located in the wireless communications network 100. Thisis not depicted in FIG. 1 for the sake of simplicity. The wirelessdevice 130 may e.g. be a user equipment, a mobile terminal or a wirelessterminal, a mobile phone, a computer such as e.g. a laptop, a PersonalDigital Assistants (PDAs) or a tablet computer, sometimes referred to asa surf plate, with wireless capability, or any other radio network unitscapable to communicate over a radio link in a wireless communicationsnetwork. Please note the term user equipment used in this document alsocovers other wireless devices such as Machine to machine (M2M) devices,even though they do not have any user. For example, in a D2D context,the wireless device 130 may be a first wireless device and the networknode 110 may be a second wireless device.

The wireless device 130 is configured to communicate within the wirelesscommunications network 100 with the network node 110 over a radio link140.

In other examples than those depicted in FIG. 1, wherein the wirelesscommunications network 400 is a non-cellular system, any of the wirelessdevice 130 and the network node 110 may serve receiving nodes withserving beams.

In some embodiments, any of the network node 110 and the wireless device130 may be implemented in a so-called cloud solution, referring to thatthe implementation may be distributed and the network node 110 may be aso-called virtual node or virtual machine.

More specifically the following are network node and wireless devicerelated embodiments.

Embodiments of a method performed by the wireless device 130 for sendinga message comprising one or more populated fields to the network node110, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicteddepicted in FIG. 2. The wireless device 130 and the network node 110operate in the wireless communications network 100. FIG. 2 depicts aflowchart of the actions that are performed by the wireless device 130in embodiments herein.

One or more of the embodiments herein described may be combined, whereapplicable.

Action 201

In order to avoid a communication failure, the wireless device 130 mayneed to provide the network node 110 with any category indication in duetime for the network node 110 to act accordingly, e.g., by restricting agrant. It may also beneficial provide this category indication avoidingto impact latency or coverage in the wireless communication network 100.In order to satisfy these goals, in this action, the wireless device 130populates one or more fields comprised in an existing message to be sentto the network node 110 with an indication of a restriction of thewireless device 130.

During the establishment of a communication, the wireless device 130 andthe network node 110 may exchange a number of messages. For example, inthe Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), thisis known as the RRC procedure. By populating the one or more fields withthe indication in an existing message, for example one of the messagesof the RRC procedure, as opposed to a creating a new or additionalmessage, the wireless device 130 may provide the indication of therestriction to the network node 110 without affecting the latency and/orcoverage of the wireless communications network 100. Increased latencymay be avoided by avoiding communicating an additional message, and/orcoverage may be avoided by avoiding creating additional interferencethrough an additional message.

The Restriction

The restriction may be a category restriction, such as a Transport BlockSize restriction. In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be alow complexity wireless device, as described earlier. In some of theseembodiments, the restriction may therefore be a category restriction forlow complexity wireless devices. In some embodiments, the restrictionmay be a TBS restriction, for example, for low complexity wirelessdevices. As mentioned earlier, the restriction may also be anotherrestriction such as a shortage of power duty cycles in the device, i.e.,a small battery.

The Indication

Embodiments herein may relate to the indication of restriction for thewireless device 130. The indication of the restriction may be providedto the network node 110 as, for example, a category or a capability ofthe wireless device 130. In some embodiments, the category may berelated to a TBS restriction. However, in other embodiments, the acategory of the wireless device 130 may not primarily be related to aTBS restriction′ but also, or instead, to e.g., a particularly low linklevel capability, in relation to for example a limited output powerrestriction or a limited receiver sensitivity restriction.

In some embodiments, the indication may simultaneously indicate a CommonControl Channel, CCCH, on Uplink Shared CHannel, UL-SCH, as well as theTBS restriction. That is, in some embodiments the indication may servetwo purposes, indicating the restriction as well as carrying theinformation that it is a subheader for a CCCH SDU. The UL-SCH is aTransport Channel. The CCCH is a Logical channel.

The Populating

Populating may also be referred to as adding the indication to the oneor more fields, or filling-up the fields with the indication. To be ableto send the information in an existing message, and avoid impacting thelatency or coverage of the wireless communications network 100, the oneor more fields may be populated with the indication, such that the size,e.g., bit size, or structure of the message remain unaltered by theadded indication when populating the one or more fields.

In order to provide the network node 110 with any category indication indue time for the network node 110 to act accordingly, e.g., byrestricting a grant, the populating is performed prior to an enquiry ora fetching of information, such as category and capability information,of the wireless device 130 by the network node 110, such as prior to thecompletion of an RRC procedure with network node 110.

The Existing Message

In order to avoid a communication failure, the wireless device 130 mayneed to provide the network node 110 with the indication in due time forthe network node 110 to act accordingly. This means the wireless device130 may need to provide the network node 110 with the indication priorto the enquiry or the fetching of the information, such as the categoryand capability information, of the wireless device 130 by the networknode 110. Prior to the enquiry is understood herein to refer to prior tothe wireless device 130 receiving the inquiry of category and/orcapability information of the wireless device 130 from the network node110.

In the exemplary context of the RRC procedure, this issue with existingproposals wherein the eNB may give a grant larger than what the UErequests in the BSR, may be addressed if low complexity UEs may send theindication earlier that it does in existing proposals, i.e. via one ofthe RRC messages Message (Msg)1, Msg3, or Msg5. Msg1, Msg3 and Msg5 aremessages that may be sent from the wireless device 130 to the networknode 110 during RRC, and may thus need to be granted by the network node110. The messages Msg2 and Msg4 may be sent from the network node 110 tothe wireless device 130 during RRC. In existing proposals, the categoryinformation is provided by a UE to its serving network node in e.g., theRRC UE capabilityInformation message, when using the RRC UE capabilitytransfer procedure.

In terms of finding a good candidate to be the “existing message” in theparticular context of the RRC, the size of the following RRC messagesfor connection establishment; Msg1, Msg2, and Msg3, is much smaller than1000 bit and it is not likely that these messages are extended beyond1000 bits in the future, considering the impact on the networkperformance due to coverage issues. This is because more bits mayrequire to be transmitted with larger power to provide the samecoverage. Today Msg 1 and Msg 2 have fixed sizes. Also, Msg4 is now andmay likely in the future remain smaller than 1000 bits since upon thebuilding of Msg4, RRCConnectionSetup, the network may not know theAccess Stratum (AS) release of the UE. Therefore, Msg4 building may needto be based on a conservative assumption that the UE is of Release 8,which is the earliest Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(E-UTRA) Release. Hence, the message may always need to be builtaccording to Rel-8 assumptions and even if new functionality is added infuture releases, it may not contain much more than what a Rel-8 UE mayhandle. In conclusion, the problem of eNB granting more than 1000 bitsmay not occur until earliest with Msg5, RRCConnectionSetupComplete,which on the other hand, may carry a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messageand therefore may have a size larger than 1000 bit. Msg5 may be sentusing the Radio Link Control (RLC)-Service Access Point (SAP):Acknowledged Mode (AM) and may therefore be segmented if needed, sincethe network node 110 may then provide smaller grants than required forthe whole message to be sent at once. If the RRC message is segmentedand the indication is included in the RRC message, reception of allsegments may be needed before the indication may be received. Still,this may require the network 110 to know the TBS limitation in advance,preferably already at the reception of Msg3. Thus, Msg3, in the RRCcontext, may be the existing message.

A constraint for the embodiments herein may be that the Msg3 size is notincreased. A larger size implies decreased coverage for all devices thatperform initial access. There are a few spare values, alternatively aspare bit in the RRC context of Msg3. Indeed, an indication in anextended RRC context of Msg3 for initial access may address the problem.3GPP TS 36.331 RRC may use a language called ASN that uses so calledextension information. This may be used to extend a message to containfurther information elements, e.g. in a later release, in a backwardcompatible way. But it may difficult to extend that context since,contrary to subsequent messages, it may be sent using a strict sizelimitation over the CCCH and RLC-SAP: Transparent Mode (TM), i.e. it maybe exchanged without the data layer options to segment and retransmitthat is provided by RLC AM. Thus, any mechanism for non-criticalextensions, which is the most typical way of extending RRC messages, maynot be used.

The problem may also occur for other access requests on CCCH, e.g. whenthe UE, that is, the wireless device 130, may make an attempt tore-establish its RRC connection in a cell which has not been previouslyprepared. The cell may not recognize the Cell Radio Network TemporaryIdentifier (C-RNTI) of the UE and may need to handle the access in thesimilar way without prior knowledge about the UE capabilities, thuswithout prior knowledge of category restrictions.

According to embodiments herein, the indication may be provided by thewireless device 130 using the MAC overhead of Msg3 for CCCH Access. Alow complexity UE may use this MAC overhead to indicate any categoryrestriction to the network node 110. If the indication is in the MACheader and included in e.g., all segments of a message, the indicationmay be obtained faster because then it may be enough to receive only onesegment already before the reassembly of the entire RRC message. Aheader may refer herein to the one or more subheaders a message mayhave. When there is only one subheader in the header, header andsubheader may be used interchangeably herein.

A detailed description and particular examples of the existing messageand the one or more fields will be provided later, in reference to FIGS.3-9.

It may be understood by one of skill in the art, that a similar strategyto that provided herein to identify a good candidate for the existingmessage in the RRC context, in order to provide the indication to thenetwork node 110 in a time to avoid a communication failure, may beapplied to other contexts in RANs other than E-UTRAN.

The One or More Fields

In accordance with the foregoing description of the existing message,and within the context of the RRC, in some embodiments, the one or morefields may be comprised in a header or subheader of a Medium AccessControl, MAC, message, such as an existing MAC message. In particularembodiments, the one or more fields may be comprised in a header of anMsg3 message for CCCH Access. A field is understood here to refer to aset of time-frequency resources.

The one or more fields may be populated with the indication, such thatthe size, or structure of the message remain unaltered by the addedindication when populating the one or more fields. This is to avoidalterations in the latency and coverage once the message is sent to thenetwork node 110. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the one or morefields may be a reserved bit in the existing message. In someembodiments, the one or more fields may be a Logical Channel ID (LCID)field in the existing message. Further detailed description on the oneor more fields, and how the indication may be provided in them ispresented below, in relation to FIGS. 3-9.

Action 202

In order to provide the network node 110 with any category indication indue time for the network node 110 to act accordingly, e.g., byrestricting a grant, in this action, the wireless device 130 sends themessage comprising the one or more populated fields to the network node110 prior to the enquiry or the fetching of the information, such as thecategory and capability information of the wireless device 130 by thenetwork node 110.

According to embodiments herein, the indication may be sent by thewireless device 130 using the MAC overhead of Msg3 for CCCH Access. Alow complexity UE may use this MAC overhead to indicate any categoryrestriction to the network node 110.

Examples of the Existing Message and the One or More Fields

According to the foregoing, embodiments herein may use fields in the MACheader in the Msg3 for CCCH Access to signal category restrictions, suchas TBS restriction for low complexity UEs, before UE category andcapability information may be exchanged.

The shortest subheader is advisable, as it may yield the smallestmessage, that is, fewer bits. Lower power may be needed for fewer bits,or if same power is used, the coverage of a smaller size message may bebetter, larger. It may be desirable to consider the coverage of Msg3since it is a part of the setup procedure, as it occurs at a point intime where all power and link adaptation control may not be in placeyet. However, embodiments herein apply to MAC subheaders of anyavailable size.

The shortest available MAC subheader is the R/R/E/LCID subheader, whichis used for the last subheader in a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) and forfixed sized MAC Control Elements. A MAC Control Element, according to3GPP TS 36.321, may be understood as the ‘payload’. The ‘payload’ for aBSR may be understood as a report on buffer sizes per up to 4 logicalchannel groups. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an R/R/E/LCIDMAC Subheader, which is the shortest available MAC subheader.

The subheader for the CCCH Service Data Unit (SDU) in Msg3, which is aparticular example of what is referred to herein as the existingmessage, currently may consist of the following fields:

Logical Channel IDentity (LCID): The Logical Channel ID field 301 mayidentify the logical channel CCCH with LCID=00000. This may allow a MACreceiver to determine the message is sent on the CCCH.

E: The Extension field 302 may be set to “0”, thus indicating theabsence of more fields in the MAC header. The MAC SDU corresponding toCCCH may start at the next byte.

R: Is a Reserved bit 303, it may be set to “0”. In existing methods,this reserved bit is not used. As shown in the Figure, there may be tworeserved bits 303.

At the top of the drawing, the horizontal line represents one octet inthe sub-header, wherein the vertical lines represent bits. That is, bothReserved bits 303 take one bit each, the E field 302 takes one bit, andthe rest is for the LCID field 301, i.e. 5 bits.

The smallest possible Msg3 in existing methods is illustrated in aschematic diagram in FIG. 4, and is the result of the smallest grantthat may be provided by an eNB. The 3GPP TS 36.321 Medium Access Control(MAC) protocol specification v 12.2.1, seehttp://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/36 series/36.321/36321-c21.zip,states that:

“NOTE: When an uplink transmission is required, e.g., for contentionresolution, the eNB should not provide a grant smaller than 56 bits inthe Random Access Response.”

FIG. 4 is illustrating two non-limiting examples (a and b) of Msg3 forCCCH Access, without an L-field, as described later, and padding.Example a) is an RRC Connection Request, and example b) is an RRCConnection Reestablishment Request. In each of the examples a) and b),three Cyclic Redundancy Check bytes (CRC) 401 are appended to themessage. Msg3 may refer herein to the whole message on a MAC level, thatis, to the CCCH subheader, the CCCH SDU and possibly other elements,e.g. padding, or BSR, Power Headroom Report (PHR), etc. . . , but notthe CRC, e.g. the CRC bytes 401. The CRC may be considered a physicallayer appendix to the granting that fits a MAC message. This applies toall the Figures herein wherein the CRC is shown as being appended. Thesmallest possible Msg3 for CCCH access may consist only of CCCHsubheader and CCCH SDU 402. If the network grant is larger, the UE mayfill it with BSR, PHR, padding according to a predeterminedprioritization order.

The TB size of the MAC PDU is also indicated with arrows. The TB sizetogether with the 3 CRC bytes 401 is 10 bytes. The size of the MAC SDU402 for CCCH RLC-TM in each of examples a) and b) is 48 bits. Thelocation of the MAC SDU 402 is indicated as being from Octet (Oct) 2 toOct 7. In each of the examples a) and b), the subheader comprises theLCID field 403 set to 00000, identifying the CCCH, the E field 404 setto 0, and two reserved bits 405.

At the top of the drawing, the horizontal line with the vertical crosslines represents consecutive bits. The vertical line on the left side ofthe drawing with the horizontal cross lines represents 10 consecutivebytes.

Occasionally, it may come with a benefit to provide a somewhat largergrant in the Random Access Response. The wireless device 130, e.g. a UE,may in that case use padding to fill up the grant. It may also need touse an L-field, as defined below, in the subheader for the CCCH payload.There may be a few possible variants given the grant size and thestandardized logical channel prioritization rules, FIG. 5 illustratesone. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting exampleof an Msg3 for CCCH Access, with an L-field 501 and a Format field (F)502. The F=0, and the L-field 501 is 7 bits. Three CRC bytes 503 areappended to the message. The Format field 502 indicates the size of theLength field 501. There may be one F field 502 per MAC PDU subheaderexcept for the last subheader and subheaders corresponding tofixed-sized MAC control elements, which may not have one. The size ofthe F field 502 may be 1 bit. If the size of the MAC SDU orvariable-sized MAC control element is less than 128 bytes, the value ofthe F field 502 may be set to 0, as in this example, otherwise it may beset to 1.

Generally, a MAC PDU subheader may consist of six header fieldsR/R/E/LCID/F/L, but for the last subheader in the MAC PDU and for fixedsized MAC control elements. The last subheader in the MAC PDU andsubheaders for fixed sized MAC control elements may consist solely ofthe four header fields R/R/E/LCID. A MAC PDU subheader corresponding topadding consists of the four header fields R/R/E/LCID. In this example,the subheader corresponding to padding consists of two Reserved bits504, an E field 505 set to “1” indicating that there are more fields inthe header, and a LCID field 506 set to “11111” indicating padding. Inthis example, the size of the UL grant is 72 bits. Also in this example,the MAC PDU subheader corresponding to the CCCH SDU consists of twoReserved bits 507, an E field 508 set to “0” indicating the absence ofmore fields in the MAC header, an LCID field 509 set to 00000identifying the CCCH, the F field 502, which is set to 0, and the Lfield 501.

The TB size of the MAC PDU is also indicated with arrows. The TB sizetogether with the 3 CRC is 12 bytes. The size of the MAC SDU 505 forCCCH RLC-TM is 48 bits. The location of the MAC SDU 505 is indicated asbeing from Oct 4 to Oct 9.

At the top of the drawing, the horizontal line with the vertical crosslines represents consecutive bits. The vertical line on the left side ofthe drawing with the horizontal cross lines represents 12 consecutivebytes.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating two non-limiting examples, a)and b), of L-field formats which may be used in embodiments herein.Example a) depicts a 7 bit L field 601, and example b) depicts a 15 bitL field 602. The network node 110 may not provide a grant smaller than56 bits in the Random Access Response, but it may provide a largergrant. If the network node 110 does so, the format rules of 36.321 mayoccasionally require an L-field subheader in order to signal the lengthof the CCCH subheader. Also shown in the examples a) and b) are of twoReserved bits 602, an E field 603, an LCID field 604 and an F field 605.The bytes corresponding to the fields are indicated as Oct in theFigure.

Embodiment 1 Introducing a T Type Field in the Subheader of CCCH SDU inMsg3

In a first embodiment, one or both of the reserved bits R in the MAC PDUsubheader of the CCCH SDU in Msg3 may be used to send the indication ofTBS restriction. In this embodiment, the LCID=00000 for UL-SCH, which isexplicitly indicating CCCH on UL-SCH, may be used. FIG. 7 is a schematicdiagram illustrating the case for the smallest possible Msg3 grant, withtwo examples, a) and b), of the first embodiment. Example a) is an RRCConnection Request, an example b) is an RRC Connection ReestablishmentRequest.

The MAC subheader of the CCCH SDU in Msg3 corresponding to the firstembodiment may consist of the following fields:

LCID: The Logical Channel ID field 701 may identify the logical channelCCCH with LCID=00000.

E: The Extension field 702 may be set to “0”, thus indicating theabsence of more fields in the MAC header. The MAC SDU 703 correspondingto CCCH may start at the next byte.

T: <both R bits used> The Type field 704 may be used to indicate thatthe wireless device 130, e.g., a UE, supports only a maximum of downlinkand uplink TBS of 1000 bits, e.g., it may be set to, that it, thewireless device 130 may populate it with, “01”, “10” or “11”, while “00”implies no restriction. To indicate may be understood herein asproviding the indication. In other words, the indication according tothe third embodiment may be “01”, “10”, “11”, or “00” in the T field,wherein “00” implies no restriction. This particular embodiment, whereinboth R bits are used is represented in both examples of FIG. 7, althoughin other embodiments, only one of the R bits may be used, as explainedbelow; <or>

T: <one R bit used> The Type field may be used to indicate that thewireless device 130, e.g., a UE, supports only a maximum of downlink anduplink TBS of 1000 bits, for example, it may be set to “1” while “0”implies no restriction. In other words, the indication according to thethird embodiment may be “1” or “0” in the T field, wherein “0” impliesno restriction.

optionally F: The Format field, which is not represented in the exampleof FIG. 7, may indicate the size of the Length field. There may be one Ffield per MAC PDU subheader, except for the last subheader andsubheaders corresponding to fixed-sized MAC control elements, which donot have one. The size of the F field may be 1 bit. If the size of theMAC SDU or variable-sized MAC control element is less than 128 bytes,the value of the F field may be set to 0, otherwise it may be set to 1;

optionally L: The Length field, which is not represented in the exampleof FIG. 7, may indicate the length of the corresponding MAC SDU orvariable-sized MAC control element in bytes. There may be one L fieldper MAC PDU subheader, except for the last subheader and subheaderscorresponding to fixed-sized MAC control elements, which do not haveone. The size of the L field may be indicated by the F field.

In some embodiments, the Type field 704 may be referred to as a“Thousand-bit field” or a “TBS restriction field”.

The examples of FIG. 7 also show 3 appended CRC bytes 705 to themessage. Some of the other elements in the Figure have already beendescribed in relation to FIG. 4.

In sum, according to the first embodiment, the one or more fields may bea reserved bit 704. One benefit of this approach is that it may use oneLCID value, which is the same LCID value, for all CCCH accesses.

Embodiment 2 Using a LCID Value Indicating BSR in the Msg3 for CCCHAccess

In a second embodiment, the normal LCID field which may be currentlyused to indicate a CCCH content in the Msg3 for CCCH Access, may not beused. Instead, in this embodiment, either one of BSR LCID for UL-SCH maybe used, i.e. either LCID=11100, 11101 or 11110, thus also indicatingeither Truncated BSR, Short BSR or Long BSR. In the particular case ofEmbodiment 2, Msg3 may be sent as part of the RRC connectionestablishment, i.e., at a time when neither buffers nor logical channelgroups may have been defined. Therefore, the normal implication of BSRmay not be valid and it may instead be used by a low complexity UE tosimultaneously indicate CCCH on UL-SCH, as well as TBS restriction.There may be no need for a MAC control element, neither may an actualbuffer status report be valid. Also, further bytes from a MAC controlelement may not be desired, since that may increase the message size.Thus, in some embodiments, there may be no MAC control elementcorresponding to this subheader, when used in Msg3. FIG. 8 is aschematic diagram illustrating the case for the smallest possible Msg3grant according to Embodiment 2 through two non-limiting examples, a)and b), although embodiments herein apply to Msg3 messages of anyavailable size. Example a) is an RRC Connection Request, an example b)is an RRC Connection Reestablishment Request.

As may be appreciated in the examples of FIG. 8, the MAC header of Msg3for CCCH Access corresponding to the second embodiment may consist ofthe following fields:

LCID: The Logical Channel ID field 801 with LCID may be set to, that ispopulated with, either “11100”, “11101” or “11110” and used to indicatethat the wireless device 130, e.g., the UE, may support a maximum ofdownlink and uplink TBS of 1000 bits. When used in an Msg3 for CCCHAccess, it may simultaneously identify the logical channel CCCH. Theoccurrence of the particular BSR LCID in Msg3 may not correspond to aMAC Control Element, but rather only to a MAC SDU for CCCH.

“Indicate” is understood herein as providing the indication. In otherwords, the indication according to the second embodiment may be an LCIDof either “11100”, “11101” or “11110”.

E: The Extension field 802 may be set to “0”, thus indicating theabsence of more fields in the MAC header. The MAC SDU 803 correspondingto CCCH may starts at the next byte.

R: Reserved bit 804, may be set to “0”. As shown in the Figure, theremay be two reserved bits 804.

optionally, a subheader for padding, which is not represented in theexamples of FIG. 8.

The examples of FIG. 8 also show 3 appended CRC bytes 805 to themessage. Some of the other elements in the Figure have already beendescribed in relation to FIG. 4.

In sum, according to the second embodiment, the LCID may be set toeither “11100”, “11101” or “11110”. One benefit of this approach is thatit may reuse a LCID value that is already used and allocated, but notyet used in Msg3.

Embodiment 3 A New LCID

In a third embodiment, a new LCID for UL-SCH may be allocated, withrespect to existing LCIDs. The new LCID may be used by low complexityUEs to simultaneously indicate CCCH on UL-SCH as well as a TBSrestriction. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the case for thesmallest possible Msg3 grant according to Embodiment 3, using an LCIDvalue in the range of Msg3 for CCCH Access. The smallest possible Msg3grant is 7 bytes. FIG. 9 illustrates two non-limiting examples, a) andb), although embodiments herein apply to Msg3 messages of any availablesize. Example a) is an RRC Connection Request, an example b) is an RRCConnection Reestablishment Request. As may be appreciated in theexamples of FIG. 9, the MAC header of Msg3 for CCCH Access correspondingto the third embodiment may consist of the following fields:

LCID: The Logical Channel ID field 901 with some LCID in the range00001-11001 may be used to indicate that the wireless device 130, e.g.,the UE, may support a maximum of downlink and uplink TBS of 1000 bits.When used in an Msg3 for CCCH Access it may simultaneously identify thelogical channel CCCH. The occurrence of that particular LCID value inMsg3 may not correspond to a MAC Control Element but rather only to aMAC SDU for CCCH.

“Indicate” is understood herein as providing the indication. In otherwords, the indication according to the third embodiment may be some LCIDin the range 00001-11001

E: The Extension field 902 may be set to “0” thus indicating the absenceof more fields in the MAC header. The MAC SDU 903 corresponding to CCCHmay start at the next byte.

R: Reserved bit 904, may be set to “0”. As shown in the Figure, theremay be two reserved bits 904.

optionally, a subheader for padding, which is not represented in theexamples of FIG. 9.

The examples of FIG. 9 also show 3 appended CRC bytes 905 to themessage. Some of the other elements in the Figure have already beendescribed in relation to FIG. 4.

In sum, according to the third embodiment, some LCID may be in the range00001-11001. One benefit of this approach is that it may use a clearuncompromised value that is not used for other purposes. That may beparticularly advantageous for low complexity devices, thereby insteadleaving all complexity to the network.

Embodiments of a method performed by the network node 110 fordetermining the restriction of the wireless device 130, will now bedescribed with reference to the flowchart depicted depicted in FIG. 10.As mentioned earlier, the network node 110 and the wireless device 130operate in the wireless communications network 100. FIG. 10 depicts aflowchart of the actions that are or may be performed by the networknode 110 in some embodiments herein. A dashed line depicts an optionalaction.

One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. In someembodiments, all actions may be performed. In other embodiments, onlysome actions may be performed. The detailed description of some of thefollowing corresponds to the same references provided above, in relationto the actions described for the wireless device 130, and will thus notbe repeated here.

Action 1001

In this action, the network node 110 receives a message from a wirelessdevice, such as the wireless device 130, that is, the existing messagefrom the wireless device 130 sent in Action 202. The message comprisesthe one or more fields 704, 801, 901. The one or more fields 704, 801,901 have been populated by the wireless device 130 with the indicationof the restriction of the wireless device 130, as described above. Thereceiving is performed prior to the enquiry or the fetching of categoryand capability information of the wireless device 130 by the networknode 110. Hence, the one or more fields 704, 801, 901 have beenpopulated by the wireless device 130 prior to the enquiry or thefetching of information, such as category and capability information, ofthe wireless device 130 by the network node 110, such as prior to thecompletion an RRC procedure with wireless device 130.

It may be understood from this that in some embodiments, once thenetwork node 110 receives the indication from the wireless device 130,it may no longer send an inquiry, that is, enquire, or fetch thecategory and capability information of the wireless device 130, as theindication may already provide the category and/or capabilityinformation.

As mentioned earlier, in some embodiments the wireless device 130 is alow complexity wireless device. The restriction may be a categoryrestriction, such as a Transport Block Size restriction, for example,for low complexity wireless devices. In some particular embodiments, therestriction may be a TBS restriction, wherein the indication maysimultaneously indicate a Common Control Channel, CCCH, on Uplink SharedCHannel, UL-SCH, as well as the TBS restriction.

The one or more fields 704, 801, 901 may be comprised in the header orsubheader of a Medium Access Control, MAC, message, such as the existingMAC message. The one or more fields 704, 801, 901 may be populated withthe indication, such that the size, e.g., bit size, or structure of themessage remain unaltered by the added indication when populating the oneor more fields 704, 801, 901.

In some embodiments, the one or more fields 704, 801, 901 are comprisedin a header of an Msg3 message for Common Control Channel, CCCH, Access.In some embodiments, the one or more fields may be a Logical Channel ID,LCID, field 801, 901. In some of these embodiments, some LCID may be inthe range 00001-11001. In some other of these embodiments, the LCID maybe set to either “11100”, “11101” or “11110”. In other embodiments, theone or more fields may be a reserved bit 704.

Action 1002

Once the network node 110 has received the indication from the wirelessdevice 130, in this action, the network node 100 determines therestriction of the wireless device 130, based on the indication in thereceived message, e.g., according to a configuration in the network node110. For example, when the configuration is according to embodiment 3,as described above, and if e.g., the indication received from thewireless device 130 is some LCID in the range 00001-11001, the networknode 110 may determine that the wireless device 130 supports a maximumof downlink and uplink TBS of 1000 bits.

According to the same embodiment 3, if the indication received from thewireless device 130 is some LCID outside the range 00001-11001, thenetwork node 110 may determine that the wireless device 130 has norestriction for a maximum of downlink and uplink TBS of 1000 bits.

Action 1003

In order to avoid a communication failure, the network node 110 may thenin this action, scheduling 903 the wireless device 130 based on thedetermined restriction. That is, for example, if the network node 110 inAction 1002 determines that the wireless device 130 supports a maximumof downlink and uplink TBS of 1000 bits, it may restrict the UL grantsfor the wireless device 130 to a TBS of 1000 bits. If, for example, thenetwork node 110 in Action 1002 determines that the wireless device 130has no restriction for a maximum of downlink and uplink TBS of 1000bits, it may not restrict the UL grants for the wireless device 130 to aTBS of 1000 bits.

In summary, according to embodiments herein, a low complexity UE mayindicate any category restriction already at the transmission of Msg3.In particular, embodiments herein provide a way to approach the present3GPP R12 problem to indicate support of downlink and uplink maximum TBSof 1000 bits in due time for the network to restrict its Msg4 size andMsg5 granting. Since the embodiments herein require no additionalmessages and since the size of Msg3 for CCCH Access does not need to belarger than what is otherwise provided, the embodiments herein impactneither latency nor coverage.

FIG. 11 is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of a method inthe network node 110 according to embodiments herein. In this particularexample, the wireless device 130 is a UE, and the existing message is anMsg3. According to Action 1001, the network node 110 receives an Msg3message according to any of the three embodiments described above. Thethree embodiments are simultaneously represented in the Figure forillustration purposes only, but it is understood that the method may beperformed with one of the embodiments only. The example depicted isnon-limiting. According to Action 1002, the network node 110 thendetermines the UE category restriction, of the wireless device 130,based on the received restriction indication in the message. Accordingto Embodiment 1, the network node 110 may determine if the T field 704is set, i.e., populated with a value indicating restriction or norestriction. If the T field 704 is not populated with one of the valuesindicating restriction, as depicted, the network node 110 may thendetermine that the wireless device 130 does not have a categoryrestriction. It will be understood that, although not depicted, theopposite may also apply. That is, if the T field 704 is populated withone of the values indicating restriction, the network node 110 may thendetermine that the wireless device 130 has a category restriction.According to any of Embodiment 2 and Embodiment 3, the network node 110may determine the value of the LCID field. According to Embodiment 2,the network node 110 may determine if the value of the LCID field 801 is11100, 11101, or 11110. In the particular example represented in theFigure, the network node 110 finds no indication of a restriction. Itwill be understood that, although not depicted, the opposite may alsoapply. That is, if the LCID field 801 is populated with one of thevalues indicating restriction, the network node 110 may then determinethat the wireless device 130 has a category restriction. According toEmbodiment 3, if the network node 110 finds the indication in the LCIDfield 901 to be outside of the range 00001-11001, the network node 110may determine that the wireless device 130 does not have a categoryrestriction. It will be understood that, although not depicted, if thenetwork node 110 finds the indication to be in the range 00001-11001,the network node 110 may determine that the wireless device 130 has acategory restriction. The network node 110 may then act accordingly,e.g., by performing Action 1003, which is not depicted in this Figure.

To perform the method actions described above in relation to FIGS. 2-9,the wireless device 130 is configured to send the message comprising theone or more populated fields 704, 801, 901 to a network node 110. Thewireless device 130 may comprise the following arrangement depicted inFIG. 12. As already mentioned, the wireless device 130 and the networknode 110 are configured to operate in the wireless communicationsnetwork 100.

The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to thesame references provided above, in relation to the actions described forthe wireless device 130, and will thus not be repeated here. Forexample, the wireless device 130 may be a low complexity wirelessdevice.

The wireless device 130 is further configured to populate the one ormore fields 704, 801, 901 comprised in the existing message configuredto be sent to the network node 110 with the indication of therestriction of the wireless device 130. The wireless device 130 isconfigured to perform this action, e.g. by means of a populating module1201 within the wireless device 130. The populating module 1201 may be aprocessor 1204 of the wireless device 130, or an application running onsuch processor In some embodiments, the restriction is the categoryrestriction for low complexity wireless devices.

In some embodiments, the restriction is the TBS restriction, and theindication may be configured to simultaneously indicate a CCCH onUL-SCH, as well as the TBS restriction.

In some embodiments, the one or more fields 704, 801, 901 may becomprised in the header or subheader of a MAC message, and the one ormore fields may be configured to be populated with the indication, suchthat the size, or structure of the message remain unaltered by the addedindication when populating the one or more fields 704, 801, 901.

The one or more fields 704, 801, 901 may be comprised in the header ofan Msg3 message for CCCH Access.

In some embodiments, the one or more fields may be an LCID field 801,901. In some of these embodiments, some LCID may be in the range00001-11001. In some other of these embodiments, the LCID may be set toeither “11100”, “11101” or “11110”.

In other embodiments, the one or more fields may be a reserved bit 704.

The wireless device 130 is further configured to send the messagecomprising the one or more populated fields 704, 801, 901 to the networknode 110 prior to the enquiry or the fetching of category and capabilityinformation of the wireless device 130 by the network node 110.

The wireless device 130 is configured to perform this action, e.g. bymeans of a sending module 1202 within the wireless device 130. Thesending module 1202 may be the processor 1204 of the wireless device130, or an application running on such processor.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may comprise other modules1203, which may be the processor 1204 of the wireless device 130, or anapplication running on such processor.

The embodiments herein may be implemented through one or moreprocessors, such as a processor 1204 in the wireless device 130 depictedin FIG. 12, together with computer program code for performing thefunctions and actions of the embodiments herein. The program codementioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, forinstance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program codefor performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the in thewireless device 130. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROMdisc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memorystick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pureprogram code on a server and downloaded to the wireless device 130.

The wireless device 130 may further comprise a memory 1205 comprisingone or more memory units. The memory 1205 is arranged to be used tostore obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, andapplications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed inthe wireless device 130.

The wireless device 130 may comprise an interface unit to facilitatecommunications between the wireless device 130 and other nodes ordevices, e.g., the network node 110. The interface may, for example,include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signalsover an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may receive informationfrom, e.g., the network node 110, through a receiving port 1206. In someembodiments, the receiving port 1206 may be, for example, connected toone or more antennas in the wireless device 130. In other embodiments,the wireless device 130 may receive information from another structurein the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port1206. Since the receiving port 1206 may be in communication with theprocessor 1204, the receiving port 1206 may then send the receivedinformation to the processor 1204. The receiving port 1206 may also beconfigured to receive other information.

The processor 1204 in the wireless device 130 may be further configuredto transmit or send information, to e.g., the network node 110, througha sending port 1207, which may be in communication with the processor1204 and the memory 1205.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the populating module1201, the sending module 1202, and the other modules 1203 describedabove may refer to a combination of analog and digital modules, and/orone or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g.,stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors suchas the processor 1204, perform as described above. One or more of theseprocessors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in asingle Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or severalprocessors and various digital hardware may be distributed among severalseparate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into aSystem-on-a-Chip (SoC).

Also, in some embodiments, the different modules 1201-1203 describedabove may be implemented as one or more applications running on one ormore processors such as the processor 1204.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for thewireless device 130 may be respectively implemented by means of acomputer program 1208 product, comprising instructions, i.e., softwarecode portions, which, when executed on at least one processor 1204,cause the at least one processor 1204 to carry out the actions describedherein, as performed by the wireless device 130. The computer programproduct may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium. Thecomputer-readable storage medium 1209, having stored thereon thecomputer program 1208 may comprise instructions which, when executed onat least one processor 1204, cause the at least one processor 1204 tocarry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wirelessdevice 130. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage mediummay be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CDROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer programproduct may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program justdescribed, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, opticalsignal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium, asdescribed above.

To perform the method actions described above in relation to FIGS.10-11, the network node 110 is configured to determine the restrictionof the wireless device 130. The network node 110 may comprise thefollowing arrangement depicted in FIG. 13. As already mentioned, thenetwork node 110 and the wireless device 130 are configured to operatein the wireless communications network 100.

The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to thesame references provided above, in relation to the actions described forthe network node 110, and will thus not be repeated here. For example,the wireless device 130 may be a low complexity wireless device.

The network node 110 is further configured to receive the existingmessage from the wireless device 130, the message comprising the one ormore fields 704, 801, 901, wherein the one or more fields 704, 801, 901have been populated by the wireless device 130 with the indication ofthe restriction of the wireless device 130. The receiving is configuredto be performed prior to the enquiry or the fetching of category andcapability information of the wireless device 130 by the network node110. The network node 110 is configured to perform this action, e.g. bymeans of a receiving module 1301 within the network node 110. Thereceiving module 1301 may be a processor 1305 of the network node 110,or an application running on such processor.

In some embodiments, the restriction is the category restriction for lowcomplexity wireless devices.

In some embodiments, the restriction is the TBS restriction, and theindication may be configured to simultaneously indicate a CCCH onUL-SCH, as well as the TBS restriction.

In some embodiments, the one or more fields 704, 801, 901 may becomprised in the header or subheader of a MAC message, and the one ormore fields 704, 801, 901 may be configured to be populated with theindication, such that the size, or structure of the message remainunaltered by the added indication when populating the one or more fields704, 801, 901.

The one or more fields may be comprised in the header of an Msg3 messagefor CCCH Access.

In some embodiments, the one or more fields may be an LCID field 801,901. In some of these embodiments, some LCID may be in the range00001-11001. In some other of these embodiments, the LCID may be set toeither “11100”, “11101” or “11110”.

In other embodiments, the one or more fields may be a reserved bit 704.

The network node 110 is further configured to determine the restrictionof the wireless device 130, based on the indication in the receivedmessage.

The network node 110 is configured to perform this action, e.g. by meansof a determining module 1302 within the network node 110. Thedetermining module 1302 may be the processor 1305 of the network node110, or an application running on such processor.

The network node 110 may be further configured to schedule the wirelessdevice 130 based on the determined restriction.

The network node 110 may be configured to perform this action, e.g. bymeans of a scheduling module 1303 within the network node 110. Thescheduling module 1303 may be the processor 1005 of the network node110, or an application running on such processor.

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may comprise other modules1304, which may be the processor 1305 of the network node 110, or anapplication running on such processor.

The embodiments herein may be implemented through one or moreprocessors, such as a processor 1305 in the network node 110 depicted inFIG. 13, together with computer program code for performing thefunctions and actions of the embodiments herein. The program codementioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, forinstance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program codefor performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the in thenetwork node 110. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc.It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick.The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure programcode on a server and downloaded to the network node 110 0.

The network node 110 may further comprise a memory 1306 comprising oneor more memory units. The memory 1306 is arranged to be used to storeobtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, andapplications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed inthe network node 110.

The network node 110 may comprise an interface unit to facilitatecommunications between the network node 110 and other nodes or devices,e.g., the wireless device 130. The interface may, for example, include atransceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an airinterface in accordance with a suitable standard

In some embodiments, the network node 110 may receive information from,e.g., the wireless device 130 through a receiving port 1307. In someembodiments, the receiving port 1307 may be, for example, connected toone or more antennas in the network node 110. In other embodiments, thenetwork node 110 may receive information from another structure in thewireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 1307.Since the receiving port 1307 may be in communication with the processor1305, the receiving port 1307 may then send the received information tothe processor 1305. The receiving port 1307 may also be configured toreceive other information.

The processor 1305 in the network node 110 may be further configured totransmit or send information, to e.g., the wireless device 130, througha sending port 1308, which may be in communication with the processor1305, and the memory 1306.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the receiving module1301, the determining module 1302, the scheduling module 1303, and theother modules 1304 described above may refer to a combination of analogand digital modules, and/or one or more processors configured withsoftware and/or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed bythe one or more processors such as the processor 1305, perform asdescribed above. One or more of these processors, as well as the otherdigital hardware, may be included in a single Application-SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digitalhardware may be distributed among several separate components, whetherindividually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

Also, in some embodiments, the different modules 1301-1304 describedabove may be implemented as one or more applications running on one ormore processors such as the processors 1305.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for thenetwork node 110 may be respectively implemented by means of a computerprogram 1309 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software codeportions, which, when executed on at least one processor 1305, cause theat least one processor 1305 to carry out the actions described herein,as performed by the network node 110. The computer program product maybe stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readablestorage medium, having stored thereon the computer program 1309 maycomprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processor1305, cause the at least one processor 1305 to carry out the actionsdescribed herein, as performed by the network node 110. In someembodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc,or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program productmay be stored on a carrier containing the computer program justdescribed, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, opticalsignal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium, asdescribed above.

When using the word “comprise” or “comprising” it shall be interpretedas non-limiting, i.e. meaning “consist at least of”.

The embodiments herein are not limited to the above described preferredembodiments. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may beused. Therefore, the above embodiments should not be taken as limitingthe scope of the invention.

1-46. (canceled)
 47. A method performed by a wireless device for sendinga message comprising one or more populated fields to a network node, thewireless device and the network node operating in a wirelesscommunications network, the method comprising: populating one or morefields comprised in an existing message to be sent to the network nodewith an indication of a restriction of the wireless device; and sendingthe message comprising the one or more populated fields to the networknode prior to an enquiry or a fetching by the network node of categoryand capability information of the wireless device.
 48. The method ofclaim 47, wherein the restriction is a category restriction for lowcomplexity wireless devices.
 49. The method of claim 47, wherein therestriction is a Transport Block Size (TBS) restriction, and wherein theindication simultaneously indicates a Common Control Channel (CCCH) onUplink Shared CHannel (UL-SCH) as well as the TBS restriction.
 50. Themethod of claim 47, wherein the one or more fields are comprised in aheader or subheader of a Medium Access Control (MAC) message, andwherein the one or more fields are populated with the indication, suchthat the size, or structure of the message remain unaltered by the addedindication when populating the one or more fields.
 51. The method ofclaim 47, wherein the one or more fields are comprised in a header of anMsg3 message for Common Control Channel (CCCH) Access.
 52. The method ofclaim 51, wherein the one or more fields are a Logical Channel ID (LCID)field.
 53. The method of claim 52, wherein some LCID is in the range00001-11001.
 54. The method of claim 52, wherein the LCID is set toeither “11100”, “11101” or “11110”.
 55. The method of claim 51, whereinthe one or more fields are a reserved bit.
 56. The method of claim 47,wherein the wireless device is a low complexity wireless device.
 57. Amethod performed by a network node for determining a restriction of awireless device, the network node and the wireless device operating in awireless communications network, the method comprising: receiving anexisting message from the wireless device, the message comprising one ormore fields, wherein the one or more fields have been populated by thewireless device with an indication of a restriction of the wirelessdevice, and wherein the receiving is performed prior to an enquiry or afetching of category and capability information of the wireless deviceby the network node, and determining the restriction of the wirelessdevice, based on the indication in the received message.
 58. The methodof claim 57, wherein the restriction is a category restriction for lowcomplexity wireless devices.
 59. The method of claim 57, wherein therestriction is a Transport Block Size (TBS) restriction, and wherein theindication simultaneously indicates a Common Control Channel (CCCH) onUplink Shared CHannel (UL-SCH) as well as the TBS restriction.
 60. Themethod of claim 57, further comprising scheduling the wireless devicebased on the determined restriction.
 61. The method of claim 57, whereinthe one or more fields are comprised in a header or subheader of aMedium Access Control (MAC) message, and wherein the one or more fieldsare populated with the indication, such that the size, or structure ofthe message remain unaltered by the added indication when populating theone or more fields.
 62. The method of claim 57, wherein the one or morefields are comprised in a header of an Msg3 message for Common ControlChannel (CCCH) Access.
 63. The method of claim 62, wherein the one ormore fields are a Logical Channel ID (LCID) field.
 64. The method ofclaim 63, wherein some LCID is in the range 00001-11001.
 65. The methodof claim 63, wherein the LCID is set to either “11100”, “11101” or“11110”.
 66. The method of claim 62, wherein the one or more fields area reserved bit.
 67. The method of claim 57, wherein the wireless deviceis a low complexity wireless device.
 68. A wireless device configured tosend a message comprising one or more populated fields to a networknode, the wireless device and the network node being configured tooperate in a wireless communications network, the wireless device beingfurther configured to: populate one or more fields comprised in anexisting message configured to be sent to the network node with anindication of a restriction of the wireless device, and send the messagecomprising the one or more populated fields to the network node prior toan enquiry or a fetching of category and capability information of thewireless device by the network node.
 69. The wireless device of claim68, wherein the restriction is a category restriction for low complexitywireless devices.
 70. The wireless device of claim 68, wherein therestriction is a Transport Block Size (TBS) restriction, and wherein theindication is configured to simultaneously indicate a Common ControlChannel (CCCH) on Uplink Shared CHannel (UL-SCH) as well as the TBSrestriction.
 71. The wireless device of claim 68, wherein the one ormore fields are comprised in a header or subheader of a Medium AccessControl (MAC) message, and wherein the one or more fields are configuredto be populated with the indication, such that the size, or structure ofthe message remain unaltered by the added indication when populating theone or more fields.
 72. The wireless device of claim 68, wherein the oneor more fields are comprised in a header of an Msg3 message for CommonControl Channel (CCCH) Access.
 73. A network node configured todetermine a restriction of a wireless device, the network node and thewireless device being configured to operate in a wireless communicationsnetwork, the network node being further configured to: receive anexisting message from the wireless device, the message comprising one ormore fields, wherein the one or more fields have been populated by thewireless device with an indication of a restriction of the wirelessdevice, and wherein the receiving is configured to be performed prior toan enquiry or a fetching of category and capability information of thewireless device by the network node, and determine the restriction ofthe wireless device, based on the indication in the received message.74. The network node of claim 73, wherein the restriction is a categoryrestriction for low complexity wireless devices.
 75. The network node ofclaim 73, wherein the restriction is a Transport Block Size (TBS)restriction, and wherein the indication is configured to simultaneouslyindicate a Common Control Channel (CCCH) on Uplink Shared CHannel(UL-SCH) as well as the TBS restriction.
 76. The network node of claim73, further configured to: schedule the wireless device based on thedetermined restriction.
 77. The network node of claim 73, wherein theone or more fields are comprised in a header or subheader of a MediumAccess Control (MAC) message, and wherein the one or more fields areconfigured to be populated with the indication, such that the size, orstructure of the message remain unaltered by the added indication whenpopulating the one or more fields.
 78. The network node of claim 73,wherein the one or more fields are comprised in a header of an Msg3message for Common Control Channel (CCCH) Access.